E. M. Lund’s The Urbex Trip explores the idea of a group of twenty-somethings encountering something haunted while enjoying an URBan EXploration. Urban exploration is the concept of visiting and documenting (usually with images) a human-constructed, abandoned building. In the book’s case, eight people travel to a decades-abandoned luxury resort on Okinawa.
Eloise (El) is an ESL teacher, native of the United Kingdom, who is in her third year in Japan. She has a circle of friends who embark on an urbex to Okinawa and The Oceanview Luxury Resort. The resort was abandoned in the 1970s. Along the way, they encounter a couple more men who join them. They head to the resort, encountering murdered wildlife and malfunctioning equipment. Before you can say “Shirley Jackson,” strange things start happening.
The setup is quite ingenious. The idea of using an urbex to motivate people to travel to a haunted site lends credence to why these eight people would dare to trespass. An abandoned resort, more like a Disney hotel than a ski resort, provides a cornucopia of unique places to encounter a spectral presence. The Oceanview is vividly described and exciting to read about.
Most of the time, the reader is in El’s head, experiencing the narrative through her eyes. Occasionally, the reader jumps into one of the other characters. Normally, I don’t like head hopping, but it works here. The author gives you enough information to trust or distrust certain characters, ratcheting up the tension. El herself has her share of buried secrets.
While a riveting read, the first third, where the characters travel to the Oceanview, seemed drawn out. Once the reader gets on the grounds, the frightening scenes pick up the pace. The third act uses techniques made famous by a certain Colorado hotel, although familiar, this segment is still a pleasurable read. The author stages some chilling scenes when the supernatural emerges.
The Urbex Trip is a thriller and paranormal horror as well as a character exploration in a strong setting. It is well worth spending some time exploring with these eight men and women the once proud, now deadly, Oceanview Luxury Resort.